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Tony Shepperd
There are very few of us that can actually say that we have always
known what we wanted to do. Such is the case with veteran engineer,
Tony Shepperd, who has logged nearly two decades in this business. “I
knew from a very young age that I wanted to be in music. It was a very
big part of my life,” said Shepperd, who grew up in the extremes
climates of Michigan and Texas where he was active throughout his teens
in the audio/visual department of his high school. It was there that
he developed a fascination of the recording process that followed him
through his college years at Loma Linda University where he majored
in photography. “It was a given in my family that I would get
a college education. There was nothing I could do but go and learn...
but the minute I got out I began building my first studio,” he
said recalling his first big purchase of a Linn 9000. As the years
passed the studio grew right along with Shepperd’s career. He
landed his first big break in 1986 when Mervyn Warren of the group
Take 6 heard some band demos that Shepperd had produced. “At
the time Take 6 was the hottest thing going. They were just taking
the music industry by storm. So, when I got that call I was obviously
thrilled. Little did I know that I would be working with Mervyn all
these years later,” Shepperd said referring to the Whitney Houston
album, One Wish he just finished recording and mixing for Warren.
Mervyn Warren resigned Take 6 in 1991 to launch his independent producing
career. His engineer of choice to go along for the ride? Tony Shepperd.
There was one, little condition... Warren was based out of Nashville
while Tony was a long-time resident of Southern California. The opportunity
to work with Warren was worth exploring so Shepperd and his family
pulled up stakes and headed south. “It was good timing. I was
married, we had just had our first child and Nashville is a great place
to live and work.”
Upon entering Music City, Shepperd began work on a year long project
with Warren called Handel's Messiah: A Soulful Celebration which featured
30 of the top black artists including Patti Austin, Tevin Campbell,
Stevie Wonder, and Quincy Jones. Working with such high-profile artists
increased Shepperd’s visibility and advanced his career right
along side of Warren. It wasn’t long until Disney began calling.
The duo eventually hooked back up to do the soundtrack for Sister Act
Two. A highlight of Shepperd’s career came in 1994 when Kurzweil
asked Take 6 to do a vocal
library and Shepperd was eager to put on tape his expansive knowledge
of recording vocals as it had grown considerably through the years
intense work with a variety of artists. “Keyboard Magazine called
that vocal library the preeminent vocal library ever recorded” he
recalls. “That was an incredible experience. One thing always
leads to another. Everything builds on everything else.”
The new Millennium brought with it the chance, as Shepperd puts it, “to
get a Ph.D. in music” by working with singer/songwriter Kenny
Loggins on his recently released It’s About Time. “I learned
so much from him. His career has spanned over 30 years and he has amazing
recall about any and all music he has recorded in his career,” he
continues. “Both of these men (Warren and Loggins) that I have
had the opportunity to learn from have made me become better. They
are both extremely perfectionistic. They have a vision of their music
and want to hear that vision coming through the monitors. It has made
me become a better listener and taken me to a whole other level mix
wise. I am implementing that with the band I am producing now.” Shepperd
is currently developing a much buzzed about group called Just Listen
and he says he is drawing on his experience with both Loggins and Warren
as he goes in the studio with the young band. He describes Just Listen
and their front man Katisse Buckingham as a cross between Emeniem and
Steely Dan. That description alone begs a listen...So, “Just
Listen”.
Shepperd recently added another entry to his resume (studio owner)
when he opened his own private studio in his home. A far cry from his
first studio which sported a Linn 9000, a NED Synclavier, Yamaha DX7
digital synthesizer, and an Ensoniq Mirage, this new studio is perfect
sonically and integral to Shepperd’s business and life flow. “It
started out as a way to be closer to my family as I am a total family
man. The room turned out so well sonically that I now need to be there
to do my best work. It is definitely part of what I bring to the table
as an engineer and producer." The studio boasts a Pro Tools HD
3 Accel that has become central to Shepperd’s process. He proudly
mixes “everything in the box” and astounds mastering engineers,
A&R execs, and sonic quality critics with the level of quality
he is churning out.
As the music business continues to navigate through all of its present
day challenges, Shepperd continues to renew his enthusiasm for his
craft on a daily basis. “Just when you think you have had enough
of the music business I hear something fresh like this band I am working
with and it inspires me. For me, it always comes back to the music.
We are so lucky to work in such an inspirational medium. Music is what
makes me keep coming back. It is what gets me up, gets me thru, gets
me down, makes me remember, makes me forget. It is one of life's greatest
blessings. I’m so glad I get to be a part of this every day.
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